Abstract
The interest in incorporating carotenoids into foods and beverages is growing due to their potential health benefits. However, the poor water solubility and low bioavailability of carotenoids are still challenges in food application. This work aimed to study the influence of system composition and preparation conditions on the physical properties of carotenoids-loaded nanoemulsions prepared by spontaneous emulsification. Furthermore, the bioaccessibility of carotenoids in the nanoemulsions was evaluated. The nanoemulsions with the smallest droplet size were produced when the ratio of Span 80:Tween 80 was 1.5:8.5. The droplet size increased slightly with the increase of organic phase content (24%-40%). The droplet size decreased gradually with the increase of stirring speed (200-1000 rpm (revolutions per minute)). The ratio of mixed surfactants and surfactant-to-oil ratio (SOR) had an appreciable impact on the droplet size. Carotenoids-loaded nanoemulsions with small mean droplet size (d < 50 nm) could be prepared with the optimized conditions. The initial digestion rate decreased as the SOR increased. The bioaccessibility could reach up to about 80% at SOR=2-5 in vitro digestion. These results have important implications for the design of effective delivery systems to encapsulate carotenoids and other lipophilic bioactive components in food applications.